White House lockdown triggered by vehicle crash and barricade breach in Lafayette Park
A driver who crashed into a security barrier and another individual who jumped a White House barricade were arrested, prompting a brief lockdown of the White House.
The White House was placed on lockdown on Monday morning after a silver sedan collided with a security barrier in Lafayette Park and, shortly thereafter, another person jumped a nearby barricade. The incident prompted a response from the Secret Service and the District of Columbia Police Department, which deployed a bomb squad to inspect the vehicle and confirmed it posed no explosive threat.
Secret Service agents instructed reporters to remain in the West Wing briefing room while National Guard troops stood on standby. Video captured by a local photographer showed the smoking sedan on a brick walkway north of the White House, followed by officers confronting the driver.
"The driver was combative with law enforcement but was quickly placed under arrest," the Secret Service said in a statement.
Around the same time, a second individual leapt over a barricade near the northwest corner of Lafayette Park, close to Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street, and was also arrested, according to the Secret Service.
The lockdown lasted approximately 30 minutes before normal operations resumed. The driver faces charges of assault with a dangerous weapon related to the vehicle and assault on a police officer, while the individual who jumped the barricade is charged with unlawful entry.